Lake Ranco helicopter crash

Sebastián Piñera, former President of Chile, died on 6 February 2024 in a helicopter accident while on vacation in the commune of Lago Ranco, located in the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos. The helicopter crashed about 40 metres from the southern shore of Lake Ranco at Ilihue, east of Lago Ranco. He was 74 years old.

Later that evening, President Gabriel Boric, in an address from La Moneda, announced three days of national mourning and declared that Piñera would receive a state funeral.

Accident

Sebastián Piñera owned a residence in the Coique Bay area of the Futrono commune. On 6 February 2024, he attended a lunch with his sister Magdalena, businessman Ignacio Guerrero, and Ignacio's son Bautista at the home of businessman José Cox in the Ilihue sector of the Lago Ranco commune. Piñera piloted his Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter, with registration CC-PHP, across the lake from his residence. After lunch, as the return flight began, the helicopter lost control just a few meters from the shore, making contact with the surface of the water and capsizing into Lake Ranco in the Ilihue sector near the take-off site. The Carabineros de Chile received a report of the crash at 14:57 (UTC−03:00), with initial reports indicating one fatality and three survivors.

Close associates of the former president noted that the vehicle's visibility might have been compromised due to fogged windows. Less than 40 minutes passed between the alert call and Piñera's body being handed over to Carabineros. Former minister Karla Rubilar told the press that, according to his sister Magdalena, who was aboard the helicopter, his final words were: "You jump first, because if I jump with you, the helicopter will fall on all of us."

Piñera's body was recovered by the Chilean Navy from a depth of 28 m. His death was confirmed around 17:00 through a statement from his press office and a statement from Minister of the Interior and Public Security, Carolina Tohá. The General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics confirmed that the other three occupants of the aircraft survived. At the time of the crash, there was a strong storm in the area. According to La Nación, Piñera survived the crash itself, but the impact left him unconscious and unable to remove his safety belt, resulting in his drowning. His three companions managed to swim to shore.

An investigation into the crash by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation concluded that the crash was caused by a loss of visual references in poor visibility, which led to spatial disorientation and an unintentional descent into Lake Ranco.